Golf-club head



Feb. 8 9

G. c. WORTHINGTON I GOLF CLUB HEAD Filed June 8. 1925 K I I8 BY a;

W I A A onuzv's;

, making an iron shot.

Patented F el). 8, 1927..

UNITED-STATES 1,617,990 PATENT OFFICE. J

GEORGE G. WORTHINGTON, OF ELYBIA, OHIO.

GOLF-CLUB HEAD.

Application filed June 8, 1925. Serial No.'35,531.

My invention is animprovement in golf club heads, and more particularlyrelates to metal heads for lofting and driving purposes. I find there isa tendency on the part of most beginners in the game of golf to swing aclub slightly high or too low when Inthe latter case, the sole of theclub head will strike the ground cons'derably to the rear of the balland will result in digging into the sod, thereby not only beingdestructive to the course, but also dubbing the shot and causing theplayer to lose confidence in his game. To overcome this tendency to digin I have provided a club head of novel design and structure which willeffectively brlng about the result desired.

An important object of myinvention is to provide a golfclub headpreferably of the iron type which will overcome the disadvantages aboveset forth. 1

Another object of my inventionis to provide a golf club head havingmeans whereby a proper balancing of the head is provided during theentire stroke and particularly that part of the stroke immediatelybefore the club head comes into contact with the ball.

Another object of my invention is to provide a golf club head of thedriving or lofting types which will have a true balance and which willeffect a more eflicient swing of the club and contact with a golf ball,resulting in shots of greater distance and accuracy.

Another object of my invention is to pro vide a golf club head which maybe cheaply manufactured and which is extremely simple of construction. 7

Other ob'ects and advantages of my invention wili become apparent fromthe following description of the same and the drawings which illustratean embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings forming a pa t bf fl j "the center of gravity of theclub head and specification andin which like numerals are used todesignate like parts throughout,-

Fig. l is an end elevation of my improved club head showing the relativepositions of' the extension and head;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the club head, Fig. 3 is a section taken online 33'of sole portion of the club Fig. 2 showing'the striking face ina sub stantially vertical plane and the sole portion of the head incontact with the sod, and

the heel and toe.

Fig. 4 is a section of a modification of my invention showing a means ofweighting and balanc'ng the club.

In the drawings, the shank 5 is hollowed at 6 to receive a club shaft(not shown). The lower end of the shank carries the head 7, and while Ihave illustrated a head representing a-mid-iron the invention may beapplied to the other types of clubs now in use.

The club head is of metal preferably a light metal such as aluminumalthough I may'use any other metal, and comprises a heel portion 8, atoe portion 9, and a sole 10, wh'le on the rear face of the head I haveformed a tongue or extensionmembe'r 11 integral therewith and extendingrearwardly of the head.- This extension consists of a body portion 11,the under side of which is convexed and curved gradually rearwardly andupwardly from the sole forming a conti uation of the sole member 10.'Itwi1l be noted in this connection that the grounding face a of thehead striking portion extends rearwardly and downwardly from the bottomof the striking face 7 forming a depressed forward portion of the bottomface with the under upwardly extending face b of the tongue to the rearof the bottom edge of th'e striking face. It will also be seen that therear head portion of the grounding face is rounded progressively moreand more acutely as the front of said grounding face is approached.

The sides 12 and 13 of the extension converge rearwardly from the soleand meet at a distance'approximately 1 inches to the rear of the upperedge 14 of the head on a line approximately midway between A web 15 isfeigned on the extension and extends from the central portion of theupper edge 14 of the head downwardly to and gradually merging with thetip 16 of the extension. Thus the web will not only serve to morecentrally locate beginner to dig into the sod by swinging too low andcontacting with the sod too-far to the rear of the ball. With thepresent invention when the club head is brought downv in the swing, thetoe 9 will engage the sod, but will be prevented from digging in byvirtue of the depressed forward portion of the bottom face of theextension 11 which is to the rear of the bottom edge of the 'strikingface and contacts with the sod during the progress of the swing, andtends to lift the club head out of the sod. As the rearward convexedsurface of the extension engages the surface of the sod, the sole of theclub head will be'foreed out of engagement with the sod and will passover the surface of the sod without material damage thereto.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a second form of my invention in which theclub head is of metal, and consists of heel and toe portions 8tand 9,respectively, and a sole portion 10 which are similar to those portions.shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

An-extension or tongue 11 is also formed on the head and comprisesstructure as I ing edges of the head.

-By using a weighting plug thecorrect balance may be given the clubwhich will result in more efficient use of the club and making shots ofgreater distances:

It is to be understood thatvarious'changes may be made in theconstruction of my invention without departing from the spirit of myinvention or the scope of the subjoined claims. a

I claim 1. In a golf club, a head therefor, a tongue on said head, saidtongue projecting rearwardly from the face of the club head, and a webformed integral with the club head and the tongue and connecting thesame, said web curving gradually downwardly from the rear face oftheclub head toward the rear end of the tongue.

2. In a golf club, a head therefor having a rearwardly pro ecting tongueand a web connecting said head and said tongue, said tongue extendinggradually rearwardly upwardly from the striking face of said head.

3. In a golf club, a head therefor, atongue on said head, said tongueprojecting rearare defined by the said curved surface belng wardly fromthe striking face of the club head and at an angle thereto, and a webconnecting said head and said tongue.

4. In a golf club, a head therefor, a tongue on said head, said tonguerejecting rearwardly from the striking ace of the club head and at anangle thereto, and a Web connecting said 'head and said tongue, saidhead, tongue and web portions being formed as an integral unit.

5.. In a golf club, a head therefor, a tongue on said head, said tongueprojecting rearwardly from the striking face of the club head and at anangle thereto, and a web connecting said head and said tongue, saidhead, tongue and web portions .being formed of a relatively light metaland as an integral unit.

6. In a golf club, a head therefor, a tongue on said head, said tongueprojecting rearwardly from the striking face of the club .head, thelower surface of said tongue com-.

prising a rear portion curving gradually upwardly from the sole of theclub head, and a web formed integrally with the club head and the tongueand connecting the same.

7. In a golf club, a head therefor, a rearwardly projecting tonguecarried by the head, the under surface of said tongue being convex, anda Web connecting said club head and saidtongue. I

8. In a golf club, a head therefor, a tongue carried by the. head, theground engaging surface of said tongue being curved rearwardly from thestriking face of the club head, and a web formed integrally with theclub head and "the tongue; for connecting the same. v

9. In a golf club, a head therefor, having an inclined striking face, arearwardly extending tongue for the head, having a bottom portion with aconvex grounding face and joining a continuation of the head groundingface, said grounding faces forming a depressed forward portion thereonto the rear of the bottom edge of the striking face, and a web formedintegrally with the head on the tongue and connectin the same.

10. In a golf club, a head therefor, having a rearwardly projectingtongue, and a web connecting said head and said tongue, the undersurfaces of said head and said tongue forming a continuously curvedgrounding the grounding surface of said tongue being curved graduallyrearwardly of the striking face of said head, the highest point of theto the rear of the striking face of the head when the club head is incorrect position for striking a ball. i i

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this25 day of May,1925.

' GEORGE C. VVORTHINGTON.

